Sowers Named to 2002 Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Team 6/6/02

Vanderbilt left-hander Jeremy Sowers has been named to the 2002 Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Team. Sowers was one of 18 starting pitchers and 70 players honored nationwide.

Sowers, a native of Louisville, Ky., and a product of Ballard High School, led all Commodore pitchers this past season in wins (six), ERA (4.37), innings pitched (101.0), strikeouts (85) and pickoffs (12). He finished the year with a 6-5 record. His 101.0 innings pitched set a single-season record for VU freshmen hurlers while his 85 strikeouts were the third-most by a VU freshman pitcher in school history. Eighty of the 104 hits he surrendered were singles. Sowers pitched seven or more innings in 12 of 13 starts and registered a pair of complete games.

Among Southeastern Conference pitchers, Sowers ranked fourth with 85 strikeouts while his 101.0 innings pitched ranked seventh. His 12 pickoffs were a league high. Sowers finished with a 4-5 record against the powerful SEC with a 5.52 ERA, 26 walks, 50 strikeouts and 91 hits in 75.0 innings of work.

Among his top performances was his collegiate debut in which he scattered four hits, two walks and an earned run while striking out 10 at Louisville on Feb. 24. The effort earned him SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. He also struck out a season-high 12 against Iowa, March 2. His best league performance came April 28 when he scattered seven hits and a walk while striking out eight to post his first collegiate complete-game shutout victory.

Vanderbilt finished the 2002 campaign 24-27 overall and 7-21 in the SEC.

-VU-